What is Calvin ayre media group and why should we care what this person thinks?
I'm getting kind of tired being told to respect the opinion of people I've never heard of.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Ayre
IndictmentIn February 2012, Ayre and three other individuals were indicted by the US Attorney for Maryland on charges of illegal gambling and money laundering related to conduct that occurred before the 2006 passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Ayre released a statement via CalvinAyre.com saying he viewed the indictment as “abuse of the US criminal justice system for the commercial gain of large US corporations.” Ayre also noted that the US Attorney had seized Bodog.com, a domain that had been dormant since the Bodog brand revoked its licensing agreement with MMGG the previous year. Ayre holds an online gaming license in the country of Antigua that is subject to a longstanding World Trade Organization dispute with the US government and which may figure in the resolution of this dispute.[29][30]
In July 2017, US federal prosecutors have dropped all charges filed over five years ago against Calvin Ayre and Bodog.[31] Ayre pled guilty to a single misdemeanor charge and admitted to an accessory after the fact charge related to the transmission of gambling information in violation of the federal Wire Act.[32] The Bodog.com domain has since been returned to its owners with an accompanying payment of $100,000, after it had been seized by US federal prosecutors as part of the criminal case.[33] Judge Catherine Blake sentenced Ayre to one year of unsupervised probation and a $500,000 fine.[32]
In September 2017, think tank Democracy Institute published Patrick Basham’s case study [34] slamming US trade hypocrisy over online gambling dispute with Antigua-Barbuda. The report also uncovers the US government’s highly irregular, ill-advised, and unsuccessful prosecution of Ayre.[35]
The study states that Ayre’s conviction in US federal court ran afoul of the WTO’s ruling as to America’s General Agreement on Trade in Services obligations. The WTO’s Appellate Body Report found America undertook a commitment to provide open and nondiscriminatory market access for recreational services, “including online gambling services.” [36]
Critically, it found that The Illegal Gambling Business Act, which made it illegal for anyone to conduct a gambling business, was explicitly in conflict with America’s commitment under subsection 10D. Hence, the Appellate Body Report concluded that America was in violation of its obligations under its GATS Schedule by maintaining and enforcing these laws.
[34]
The review claims that law enforcement officials tried to intimidate Ayre years before the indictments against him were filed, and that prosecutors “…covertly reached out to Ayre through respective third parties … including Ayre’s known business associates and industry contacts, to ‘encourage’ Ayre to make a US$350 million payment to the US Treasury.” [37]
VindicationThe government of Antigua and Barbuda welcomed Ayre’s vindication as part of the failure of the US to comply with World Trade Organization ruling on Internet Gaming.[38]
The twin islands government said in a statement, “In light of the WTO ruling in Antigua and Barbuda’s favour, prosecutions by the United States of licensed gaming entities and their principals in Antigua and Barbuda, such as Calvin Ayre, are completely contrary to binding international agreements. In this context, Calvin Ayre and all other Antigua and Barbuda licensed gaming operators, who were indicted in the United States on Internet Gaming charges, are victims not culprits.” [39]
In August 2017, the government appointed Ayre as an Economic Envoy for Antigua and Barbuda. He will serve as sovereign island states’ adviser on the effective implementation of new technological developments in cryptocurrency and Bitcoin.[40]
Ayre was instrumental in helping Antigua and Barbuda draft laws to implement Bitcoin into the Commonwealth nations’ laws.[41] He also led the ground-breaking and sod turning ceremony for his US25 million call center in Antigua in October 2016 citing the island as the next global service industry hub catering to bitcoin online gaming.[42]
Bitcoin InvolvementIn June 2016, Andrew O'Hagan published a writer's account of the background behind Craig Wright publicly asserting himself to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin cryptocurrency, which made the news in May 2016. He revealed Calvin Ayre to be part of the business operation behind this affair, possibly even its ultimate organizer and the financial backer of the $30 million acquisition and development of Craig Wright's assets.[43]
In August 2017, Ayre acquired cryptocurrency news site Coingeek.com and plans to enable this to provide truly global coverage on Bitcoin and address rampant fake news circulating within the industry and elsewhere.[44]
